How Can We Practice Self-Compassion in an Always-On World? – Walls

This week at I Am Here, we’re gently asking: How can we practice Self-Compassion in an Always-On World?

When does staying informed tip into feeling overwhelmed?
What does constant exposure to news and information do to our nervous systems?
How can we protect our mental health and wellbeing without switching off from the world entirely?

Many of us wake up to the news and fall asleep to it. Headlines, alerts, breaking updates, opinion, reaction, and counter-reaction. All of it arriving fast, loud, and often without pause.

It’s no wonder so many people feel on edge.

This isn’t about burying our heads in the sand. It’s about recognising that our minds weren’t designed for real-time access to every crisis, tragedy, and threat happening across the globe. Being constantly ‘up to date’ can quietly overload our systems, even when we think we’re coping fine.

Practising self-compassion doesn’t mean we don’t care about the world. Sometimes, it means caring about ourselves enough to create space.

What Are We Watching This Week?

This week, we’re watching Why reducing exposure to news makes you happier a TEDx talk by Tobias Wahlqvist. In it he explores how modern news consumption can fuel stress and anxiety.

He explains how news and social media platforms are designed to prioritise urgency, drama, and negativity, in order to drive engagement, and how constant exposure can quietly dysregulate our nervous systems. Rather than encouraging people to disengage completely however, he offers thoughtful guidance on how to consume news more consciously.

It’s a calm, reassuring reminder that being informed doesn’t have to come at the cost of our mental health and wellbeing.

Watch the full video here (10-minute watch)

What Are We Reading This Week?

If the news has been feeling heavy lately, here are a few small, realistic ways to protect your mental health and wellbeing:

Update Be mindful about what you consume, and about how much of it you take in.’
Avoid news first thing in the morning or last thing at night—times when your nervous system is most sensitive.’
Try a short news detox from time to time: even a day or two can make a difference.
Read the news later in the day or even a few days later. Real-time updates can create unnecessary urgency.
Where possible, read news in print rather than on your phone: it’s often slower, less reactive, and easier to step away from.

These aren’t rules. They’re options. Take what feels helpful and leave the rest.

Who Are We Quoting This Week?

“Anxiety doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Neither do we. It’s a very human response to the world we’re asking people to survive in.”

– Niall Breslin

At I Am Here, we don’t believe the answer to anxiety is simply ‘coping better’ or ‘toughening up’. We believe it starts with noticing what we’re asking of ourselves in the first place.

Living in an always-on world can quietly stretch our nervous systems beyond what’s reasonable. Feeling anxious, tired, or overwhelmed in that context isn’t a failure. It’s feedback.

Sometimes the most compassionate thing we can do is to give ourselves permission not to carry everything, all at once.

We would love to hear your thoughts. If you have a comment or reflection to share, simply reply to this email. We read every message and always appreciate hearing from our community.